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Study Links Soda, Childhood Heart Disease

Children who drink sugar-filled soda may be at greater risk of developing heart disease later in life.

Researchers at the University of Sydney found that kids who drank one or more soft drinks each day had narrower arteries in the back part of their eye - a factor usually associated with increased risk of heart disease and high blood pressure.

The report echoes a 2007 study that indicated people who drank soda every day - even diet soda - were more likely to develop risk factors for heart disease. But the new Westmead study is the first of its kind to show that soft drinks and carbohydrates in childhood are linked to narrower retinal vessels.